History

By the late 1970s, railroad were not in a state of good repair. The issue over railroad safety and repair became an issue after a June 1977 Conrail derailment in Metuchen, N.J. In that wreck, 17 cars derailed and took the busy Northeast Corridor out of commission.

The Roy O. Disney locomotive has an incredible story. The locomotive, formerly No. 251 of the United Railways of Yucatan, was one of five Disney officials purchased in Mexico for potential use in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World.

It’s been more than 60 years since trains operated over the Staten Island Rapid Transit’s South Beach line, but a bridge pier at the intersection of Clayton Street and St. Johns Avenue is a reminder of the former line.

ATLANTA — While Amtrak started its operations in 1971, not all railroads gave up passenger service. Southern Railways’ Crescent route between New York and New Orleans was once such example. However, by May 1978, Southern was spending $560,000 per month operating the train, which passed through Atlanta. The railroad petitioned the Interstate Commerce Commission to discontinue the service, which at that point was the railroad’s only passenger route. In 1978, 195,000 people took the train, down dramatically from the roughly 9 million who used the service during World War II. On Dec. 13, 1978, Amtrak’s board of directors agreed to

In 1772, Oliver Evans created a 21-ton boat on wheels that could travel on both land and water. The vehicle boasted a paddle that helped it glide across the water. A steam engine helped it ride along the land.

After the Tennessee Central wrapped up its operations on Aug. 31, 1968, some of the railroad’s locomotives were parked in Hopkinsville, Ky., news accounts suggest. The next day, the Illinois Central assumed the line’s operations between Hopkinsville and Nashville, Tenn.